Link-A-Palooza

It has been quite an exhausting week, so I am going to take a little bit of a break today from Red Carpet Closet and share a few links with you.  I will be back tomorrow with a few great finds from the gifting suites during Oscars Week.

The Academy Award winning designs by Rick Baker for The Wolfman.

1. Starpulse:  Check out my article on the Makeup Artists and Hairstylists Symposium that was held at The Academy last week.  All of the nominees in the Makeup category were there including famed Makeup Designer Rick Baker (An American Werewolf in London, Thriller).  See how they are competing with CGI in their field and how Anthony Hopkins "helped" the makeup artists on the set of The Wolfman.

2. Cathy Baron:  She's a talented actress and rising jewelry designer with an amazing Steampunk line.  I've worn her pieces on the red carpet here and she is featured on another great blog called Stuff She Likes. The photos of Cathy's pieces on this site will have your credit card flipping in your wallet.

3. LonsTV:  Lon Harris was a guest on my show, The Web Files, back in December of 2009. I was thrilled that he mentioned my show in one of his recent episodes.  Thanks, Lon.  I hope to bring The Web Files back sometime this year.



Three Random Photos to Ponder:

Shhhh, don't tell Wolfgang Puck, but my chocolate Oscar was stale.

This dress looked terrible on camera, but it was stunning in person and NO ONE else could have worn it but Cate Blanchett.

His movies are twisted, but I have a secret crush on Darren Aronofsky--porn 'stache and all. 

All Photos are Property of Red Carpet Closet.  May not be published without permission.

Gone Fishing

While I take a much needed holiday break, I will leave you with a couple of posts you may have missed.  I will be back posting away next week with all of my adventures and an upcoming event in Chicago for Women's Health Magazine.

1. The legend of Disney continues into 2010 with my post showing behind the walls of Club 33.  This was posted on Disney Food Blog and every week, I find new friends thanks to Uncle Walt.

2. This next article was written in 2009, but Demi Delia is an interesting woman.  As a former adult star, she is raising two successful and smart kids.  Crackle.com chronicled her life in an online reality show, Mommy XXX.  Demi also made headlines again a few months ago as an alleged mistress of actor, David Boreanz.

3. Who knew that one iPhone photo would cause such frenzy?  Yes, I was there for the 2010 fire at Cobo Hall in Detroit at the North American International Auto Show.  See what all the fuss was about.

4. This article gave me my first hate email.  It was about Publicity and Web Series, but someone got their panties in a bunch over what I had written.  Tubefilter also referenced the article in a recent post as well.

5. The Legend of Neil fans are exactly that.....legendary.  Their continued support for our episode of The Web Files with Sandeep Parikh and Tony Janning is amazing and I always appreciate them stopping by. Here's their behind the scenes feature:  Legend of Neil.

So, that's the Top 5 at the halfway point of 2010.  Let me know what your favorite article has been this year.  Leave a comment and tell me what you think.  Have a safe and Happy 4th of July!

Episode 39: Backyard FX

This episode is one of my favorites from The Web Files in 2010. It features Zack Finfrock, the new host of Next New Network and Indy Mogul's, Backyard FX.  We had a whole series of unplanned special effects going on during this interview that made it frustrating for the crew, but fun at the same time.  Be sure to stick around past the credits for a fun moment with Puppet Zack.  I'll have more behind the scenes of this episode later in the week.  Thanks for watching!

My Sixth Sense

Guest blogging for Red Carpet Closet today is Director/Producer Sandra Payne. Check out her thoughts on Kevin Pollak:

A few weeks ago, I got a chance to meet actor/comedian and new media sensation Kevin Pollak, for the first time. So cool! After all, it’s not often that you get to meet someone in person that you usually only see after going to the theater, or popping a DVD in, or checking out a hot online show.

      It was at the Streamy Craft Awards on April 7, where Kevin and his team won a Streamy Award for Best Live Production in a Web Series for Kevin Pollak’s Chat Show. He gave an enthusiastic speech:

surrounded by the production crew of his show, including director/producer Mike Rotman, writer/producer Jason McIntyre, and co-producer Josh Negrin (while writer/producer Jaime Fox waved from the comfort of her seat). We also interviewed Kevin and his team, including executive producer Jason Calacanis, on the red carpet directly after the ceremony. Steeped in post-award euphoria, check out what they had to say about winning.

            Since then, I’ve seen Kevin at least six more times at various events around Hollywoood.  It’s rather astonishing, really.

                    I haven’t even seen the majority of my good friends that much.
                    I’m starting to think of it as my own, livelier version of The Sixth Sense.

            And so it was that just two days later, on Friday, April 9, I attended a round table discussion with Kevin at the offices of mPRm, a public relations firm that has several high-profile web series creators in its client roster. At this meeting, Kevin, who was joined by Babelgum’s Comedy Publisher, Amber J. Lawson, talked with bloggers about his new comedy, Vamped Out, which was set to launch on Babelgum the following Monday, April 12.

          Vamped Out is a funny, sharply written mockumentary about a real vampire who, despite wanting to be an actor, can’t get cast in any of the vampire shows that currently proliferate in Hollywood.

            Kevin co-created, co-wrote and stars in Vamped Out with Jason Antoon. The series also serves as Kevin’s directorial debut. It’s a role he’s wanted to tackle for some time. Having worked with some of the greatest directors of our time over the years has allowed him to study them, he said, but prior to his web series, he’d been intimidated by the thought of being in charge of everything. Not any more, though.

            “I’m definitely hooked for life,” Kevin said.

            And not just on directing.

            “I hope to do more episodes of Vamped Out,” he said. “The abject creative freedom and control is not to be taken lightly by someone like myself.”

            Case in point, Kevin said that Vamped Out was conceived of, written, produced and launched in about 5 months.

            In the world of high-quality Hollywood productions, that’s as close to instant gratification as you can get. It’s truly one of the most powerful draws of working on the web.

            If you haven’t seen it yet, it’s worth checking out. Here’s the link: Babelgum. You can watch Episode #1 here:

          After the roundtable discussion wrapped up, Vamped Out premiered at Cinespace that evening to a packed house, a red carpet, and celebrities. Naturally, Kevin was there to introduce his series. We watched a sneak peek of several episodes before their official launch on Babelgum slated for the following Monday. Since standard op is to watch web series alone at our computers, it was fun to see Vamped Out with a live audience on the big screen and hear everyone’s laughter.

            Less than 48 hours later, I saw Kevin again at the Streamy Awards where he walked the Red Carpet:

That night, he presented the Streamy Award for Best Guest Star in a Web Series.

He got a lot of laughs when he said that being asked to act in a friend’s web series is the new jury duty. Of course, since jury duty pays about $15 per day, it’s kind of like that, but generally less lucrative.
                   Astonishingly, several weeks then went by for me without a Kevin Pollak sighting.  That was remedied on May 3 at the Digital Hollywood conference, Kevin was back and serving—I mean seated—as a panelist on the “Web Video: The New Content Creators” panel along with Illeana Douglas from Easy to Assemble, Chris McCaleb from the Big Fantastic, Brian Firenzi from 5-Second Films, and Jason Goldberg from Ashton Kutcher’s production company, Katalyst. The panel was moderated by Dana Harris, the editor of strategic projects for Variety.

            Right after their discussion wrapped up, Kristyn had the chance to interview Kevin and Amber for today’s Buzz segment:

           On Wednesday, May 5, Kevin appeared again on another panel. This time, it was one called “The Multi-Hyphenate: Actor-Writer-Director-facebook expert.” He was joined by three other creators: a) Joshua Malina, whose credits include The West Wing and Sports Night (I loved that show!), and who has a new web series coming out soon called Backwash, b) Brett Register of The Crew, and c) David Nett of Gold.

Celebrity interviewer Jeanne Wolf, the West Coast Editor of Parade Magazine, moderated.

       During the panel, Kevin said, “If you’re not creating, you’re waiting.” That, of course, caused me to spiral into a philosophical loop about what I was doing just sitting there.

            Just when I thought my Kevin Pollak Palooza month was over, Tubefilter announced it’s Best of the Internet screening at the Egyptian Theatre in conjunction with the American Cinematheque Blows Up the Internet screening series. I had a play to attend that night, so I could only roll in as a small group of new mediarati was making their way over to the historic Musso & Frank’s Grill for an after-screening gathering. When I entered the restaurant, I saw Kevin.

            [cue music from the Twilight Zone]
So there it is. Seven Kevin Pollack sightings in seven weeks. 

Although it's tempting to attribute them to my Sixth Sense, I'm starting to think he's stalking me.

    

Behind the Scenes of MWG Entertainment's Camera Obscura

Earlier this year, I became a special effects makeup geek. I had the privilege of attending the Dick Smith tribute at the Academy of Motion Pictures hosted by Oscar winner and An American Werewolf in London legend, Rick Baker. After that evening, I was officially hooked on the art of makeup and special effects. When the opportunity presented itself to shoot MWG Entertainment's Camera Obscura interview at the Obscure Artifacts studio, I was giddy.

The series first came to my attention via the woman who does it all in the web series industry, Andrea Ball. She knows everyone and she has her finger on the pulse of the web series world. Sandra and I were looking to do a Halloween episode and we thought Camera Obscura would be a perfect fit once we saw their creepy trailer. So once we worked out all of the details with publicist extraordinaire, Gabriel del Rio, we were on our way.

I felt like a kid in a candy shop walking into Obscure Artifacts. It is fascinating to see all of the demons, creatures, and chopped off arms laying around. I am not sure I picked the right outfit for the day though. A special effects studio is a little messy and, of course, I choose a dress more appropriate for cocktails than demonic creatures.

The interview went by so quickly because we had so many people to talk to! Director Drew Daywalt truly represents his Twitter bio, "Nice guy, creep films". As a creator of short form horror videos for Fewdio, it is hard to imagine all of the horrifying images come from such a kind man. Visually, I think all of you are really going to be terrified by Camera Obscura from the Linda Vista Hospital location to the dreary sepia look of the show, it promises some true meat for horror fans to sink their teeth into. It is the anticipation of what is about to happen that is truly terrifying. During the interview, Drew gave a terrific explanation of how horror can work well in under 3 minutes and in a web series. And while I understand why so many new media creators look to take their web series to different platforms like film and TV, it was refreshing to hear that Drew created this show solely for the web.

I was thrilled to finally sit down with MWG Entertainment's Director of Distribution, Sarah Evershed. We both seem to be at the same places at the same time, but we never seem to find each other at the new media events. I think Sarah demonstrates the strength of MWG Entertaiment's slate of new shows and their focus on women....whether it is a comedy like Road to the Altar or the horror genre with a strong, female lead. MWG Entertainment is making web series for you, ladies!

Finally, we have Jeff Farley, the special effects creator for Camera Obscura and the owner of Obscure Artifacts. If you have a fascination for the behind the scenes creations, this is the man to follow. With an impressive resume filled with notable productions like Serpent and the Rainbow, Scary Movie 2, and an Emmy nod for his work on Babylon 5, Jeff brought the six demons that Drew created to life. While the time frame for the production might have been tighter and shorter than some of his prior big budget work, the demons are going to haunt you. I don't think we gave Jeff his full due because he shared so much with us in regards to his work on Camera Obscura. We are tossing around the idea of doing a supplemental episode with all of the extra Jeff Farley footage, so stay tuned for a future announcement.

Of course, I cannot forget Corpulence. As creepy as he is in person, I think he was flirting with me. Sassily played by the talented Paul Hungerford, I never knew what he was going to say next. In fact, I think Corpulence is a bit of a diva. Paul was a total trooper in the Corpulence suit. I am sure he lost half of his body weight from the interview alone, but he gave The Web Files some of the best sound bites yet. From the beak-like eyes to the chubby belly, the work that went into Corpulence is pretty incredible. I was completely freaked out by the clicking sound the beak makes when in operation. And yes, there is a wizard behind the moving appliances, it has to be controlled by another special effects artist who kneels behind the suit. It takes a lot of work to be scary!

I hope you all have a truly spooky and safe Halloween. If you haven't caught our episode yet, watch it right here: Camera Obscura. And here, you will find the blooper reel of our beloved Corpulence: Corpulence.